A Little Fall of Rain
by Timp
Summary: Based on the 'Les Miserables' song of the same name. Short bittersweet one-shot featuring Squall and Zell. *warning* Slight Squall/Zell shounen-ai, definite character death, slight cursing.


**Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VIII belongs to Squaresoft – we all just like putting the characters in awkward situations, ne?**

**Author's note: Damn, this is depressing – I'm not usually an angsty writer, either, and this just sorta came right out. Eh, oh well. Drama lovers will recognize the title – and most of the plot – as being taken from _Les Miserables' "A Little Fall of Rain", the scene where poor Eponine dies. Talk about inspiration for a fic, sheesh. My apologies to Sir Lloyd Webber. Anyhow…yeah. Slight Squall/Zell shounen-ai, and definite character death, so consider yourself warned._**

A Little Fall of Rain

"ZELL! Dammit, NO!"

_Dammit__! It wasn't supposed to happen like this, Squall thought to himself as he raced toward the fallen martial artist. __This was supposed to be a reconnaissance mission! Where in Shiva's name did that damn Ruby Dragon come from?_

Squall knelt down at his comrade's side, ignoring the red-tinged mud that was now staining the knees of his pants. He was dimly aware of Quistis somewhere behind him, yelling to the others to lead the giant dragon away from where he was, but none of that mattered.

Zell was dying.

Even with his limited field medic knowledge, he could tell that as soon as he saw the gaping wound in the blonde's side stomach; there was nothing he could do. "No," he whispered, refusing to believe it the truth.

"Squall…" coughed Zell faintly. "I…"

"No! Selphie! Rinoa! I need you over here NOW!" Squall shouted hoarsely. _Selphie's__ good with magic, she can help him – and Rinoa's a sorceress! It's going to be alright…_

"It's going to be alright," he repeated to himself.

"No, Squall, it's-" Zell coughed. 

"Don't you _dare say it's okay, Zell, we're going to get you help," Squall said firmly, looking around. __Where the hell are they? Zell needs help now!_

The girls, unfortunately, were on the other side of the dragon, attempting to draw it away from their fallen comrade – they neither heard Squall's cries nor saw his frantic glances.

"Squall…" He heard the voice beneath him and quickly turned his attention back to the blonde laying in front of him. "Is Rinoa okay?" Zell said faintly, looking worried.

_What the he…oh. That's right. Squall remembered then why Zell had gotten hurt in the first place – he had jumped in front of a swipe fully intended for the dark-haired sorceress._

"Yeah, she's fine, and so are you – why did you do that anyway?" he asked, concern beginning to  creep into his voice.

Zell mumbled between breaths, "…had to…save her…for you…"

Squall's eyes widened a little; he shook his head. "It's okay; you're going to be okay…okay…" Squall murmured, almost like a mantra. Suddenly, he glared up at the dark sky that was, it seemed, attempting to drown everything under an ocean of water. "Damn, we have to get you out of this rain…" he said, trying to drag Zell to his feet.

Zell cried out softly in pain, and Squall hurriedly put him back down, standing up to pace. Zell just smiled up from the ground weakly. "It's okay - rain's not gonna hurt me now, baby…" He attempted to laugh, but the laugh turned into a vicious cough that spattered blood on his lips.

Squall quickly knelt next to him again, gently wiping the redness off of Zell's lips, tracing the contour of his mouth. "Dammit, cut that out! You're going to be-"

"Squall."

Squall stopped. He looked up into Zell's eyes, gazing into the light blue pools that were slowly ebbing away from consciousness…from him…

"No," whispered Squall, "you can't…"

"Shhh, baby, it's okay. It doesn't hurt," Zell said, wincing. "Too much."

"Is there anything I can…?" the commander asked, feeling the sting of hot tears in his eyes. _Dammit__, not now, this is all he needs…_

"Just…" Zell started, then stopped and shook his head. "No, baby – you're here now, that's all I need."

"Zell…" Squall whispered. "I…"  _You what, Leonhart? Just spit it out! Tell him – tell him how you always think about him, how it's always been him, even when you're with Rinoa, how you're always wondering if he's alright, how…_

"I know," Zell spoke quietly, reading Squall's mind. "Me too."

"Oh, Zell," Squall said painfully, wrapping his arms as best he could around the fallen martial artist's body, accidentally brushing the edge of the wound in his abdomen. Zell winced in pain, then relaxed into Squall's arms.

"Squall…are you crying?" Zell asked, a little amused.

The self-styled iceberg shook his head violently, rubbing his eyes. "No, it's just this damn rain…" he said unconvincingly.

Zell chuckled softly, the laugh quickly turning into a violent cough again. "Don't curse the rain, baby – it makes the flowers grow, you know."

Squall stared into Zell's eyes, confused. "The…flowers?" He saw briefly in his mind the orphanage, the meadow next to it, then blinked. "Since when did you become such a gardener?" he asked, smiling a little – the smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Zell just closed his own eyes and snuggled deeper into Squall's arms, ignoring the question. "It's okay – like I said, the rain can't hurt me now, anyway," he said, smiling.

Squall leaned closer, not caring how awkward he felt, or that his pants had become permanently stained with mud, or that his gloves were now painted a dark crimson. "Zell, I need to tell you that-"

Zell's eyes flew back open, and he tried to sit up. "No," he said as forcefully as he could muster.

"But-"

"No, Squall. You have to go back to Rinoa," Zell said, smiling a little. "Don't screw that up for me – I'm almost gone, but you have to stay here – I want to know that you'll be alright. Promise me."

The brunette looked down into the eyes of the treasure he held in his hands, then sighed and nodded. Zell relaxed, relieved. "Just…hold me?" he asked tiredly, his voice growing fainter.

Squall responded by wrapping his arms around the smaller man again, drawing him into a tight embrace, intending for all the world never to let go.

Zell grinned, his eyes slowly drooping. "There…that's nice." He closed his eyes. "I always liked the rain…it always reminded me of you, Squall. Aaahh…" He gasped a little, the pain returning.

"I'm here now, it's okay…" Squall responded, rocking him gently.

The blonde sighed a little, relaxing back into Squall's embrace. "So tired…"

"Shhh, just rest…I'll be here, rain or not."

 "I know." Zell smiled faintly. "Besides – rain'll make the flowers…"

"…grow," Squall finished quietly, looking into Zell's eyes for assurance. There was none to be found.

Zell had already gone.

The others watched as their commander sobbed into his friend's chest, the dragon long since slain and forgotten. Selphie whirled around, finding solace in the tenuous strength of her cowboy's arms; Rinoa started forward to console Squall, but she stopped when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned, looking up into Quistis' tearful eyes, who shook her head quietly. Rinoa sighed, nodded, and turned to walk back toward the Ragnarok with the others.

Squall, however, sat in the rain for a long time, grasping his friend's body. He looked back down at the shell that had once held Zell, his best friend, and noticed something white in his jacket. Reaching inside, he pulled out a perfectly pressed white lily, untouched by either blood or mud.

The Lion smiled, laughing quietly through his tears. "The rain can't hurt you now, Zell…"


End file.
